Why do people in customer service no longer say "hi"?

Question

OK, so it's something that I've been noticing more and more recently. And it irks me. Have you ever walked up to the counter to pay for items at a store and the associate barely acknowleges you and just starts scanning your stuff? It's so rude! Even if it's an insincere "how are you" or just a simple "hello" I would be happy. Is that REALLY too much to ask for? It's the easiest part of your job for goodness sake! Arggghhh...

By the way, I've been working in customer service for over 5 years. And if you're seriously that bitter about your job to the point where you can't muster up a simple 2 letter word, then MAYBE you shouldn't be in customer service..........

Answer 1

There is a simple answer to this. One should never, under any circumstance, be rude to another human being. Period, the end.

All the comments here are simply excuses for not giving other people common courtesy. So someone else treated you, the customer, or you, the CSR, rudely? Don't return it- as one CSR here notably says he/she did! So the last customer was a jerk- so what? That does not give you the right to start treating other customers poorly. The same is true with customers. So what? They were rude - there are, as Miss Manners says "a thousand vexing rudenesses before lunch." The next guy you encounter is not at fault for the rudeness of the last one.

Always be polite to everyone you encounter. It's amazing how good treatment makes other people respond with good treatment!

Answer 2

Let me tell you this....I work in retail and sometimes the customers just dont care if you tell them anything. I usually tell my customers hi and if they start a couple of sentences then yeah I talk back but you get some customers that are just plain rude and don't care. Then you also get some customers that are from another country and just don't understand you. What really irks me is when you tell a customer something and they just look at you and say "did i tell you to talk?". I feel like telling that customer...."what crawled up your butt?" but I don't because I would rather that customer get out then stay and make a big scene. And if your cashier doesn't smile or say hi or anything...try to make a conversation with them. That might help because hey being a cashier or working with any kind of customer service isn't so easy as you might think. Plus don't always assume that the cashier is stupid and has no education either. Cause that's another reason why customers get treated bad too.

Answer 3

Having the same irritation of being ignored by workers I have given this much thought. The main problem seem to be a lack of training and supervision as well as mentoring. Another suggestion is to evaluate each circumstance and to give the first friendly smile. Smile whether customer or clerk.

With the problem of lack of training etc. add the clerk who has either no desire to work or maybe no desire for this particular job. Then with the lack of work skills and social skills which are not taught at home, school, nor in the work enviornment you produce a very unhappy clerk. A clerk usually without a clue as to why they can't work well with the public.

The home should teach simple skills and manners. I stopped a child I mentor just this evening to help with a social skill she lacked. She had bumped into an adult and began after the disentanglement to go on to her play. I called her back and with the good nature of the adult we role played an apology and acceptance of the apology for the child. We spent less than 3 minutes and with smiles all around we each went our own way. This was a young child.

In a work situation a young worker said an abrupt "no" to a patron asking if he, the worker, had a pencil. The patron left with a perplexed look. With thought to the patron I said quitely that I probaly would have looked for a pencil or have asked if the patron wanted me to look for one. My intention was to help the worker and it was accepted that way. The worker did go to the patron and began a polite helper conversation. He had responded only to to question not the need of the patron.

I think we all can improve with the desire to do so. Mentors are hard to come by in the workforce today.

I respect the work done by Letita Baldrige and other ettiquette books.

Answer 4

Job dissatisfaction due to numerous things (low pay, long hours, people being rude when one is nice in the first place, poor job security when you are nice versus being super efficient (so many places are all about the numbers, numbers, numbers, these days), little potential for advancement, undemanding work in the first place (how many of these scanners have degrees in things like physics, psychology, and so on, do you think? a rather unpleasant number; I knew a guy that had an honours physics degree that was still stuck working at a burger place months after graduation), etc.)

Answer 5

the reason why you feel is rude is beacause when the associates that are working and helping you stop to say hello or even smile people don't notice. day after day they stand on thier feet for long hours trying to acknolede customers instead the responses they get are yelling and screaming and being blamed for little mistakes that may occur. at the end these associates just give up and stop acknowleding customers because they know what they may expect back from them.

Answer 6

Oh my god manners here in Miami, Fl are something of the past, not only are the customer service people not polite but to add assault to injury they are rude, loud and obnoxious, they do not help, seem bothered if you ask for help and are very quick to argue with the customers. Whatever happened to the customer is always right??

Answer 7

Probably because these days nobody ever says hello back. I've noticed this, my sister used to work at a grocery store, as a cashier, and some of the people who wen through her line were so rude. I guess people got sick of it and just stopped trying to be polite.

Answer 8

Thats nothing!!! I had a check out check scratch herself down stairs when I was buying lip gloss!! I agree with you... I work in customer service & working with people is not the easiest of jobs but a geniuine hello takes 2 seconds!

Answer 9

because it is easier not to say 'hi' than to say it. just put on a glum face and get on with it. seems like they all do

i do not envy sales associates. long hours, low pay, always on their feet, lack of real career prospects, no sense of belonging within the company and also not to mention the sheer rudeness of customers these days...how can associates still be chipper under such circumstances?

i wish it was not like that, but i doubt i things will change. it is the same everywhere, europe, asia as well...a little better in asia.

Answer 10

I worked in customer service for 31 years for an airline and I agree everyone is getting ruder...but at least here on the west coast of canada.(Vancouver)..store clerks will still say hello.